¹female

adjective fe·male \ˈfē-ˌmāl\

: of or relating to the sex that can produce young or lay eggs

: characteristic of girls or women

: having members who are all girls or women

Full Definition of FEMALE

a (1) : of, relating to, or being the sex that bears young or produces eggs (2) : pistillate

b (1) : composed of members of the female sex <the female population> (2) : characteristic of girls or women <composed for female voices> <a female name>

: having some quality (as gentleness) associated with the female sex

: designed with a hollow or groove into which a corresponding male part fits <the female coupling of a hose>

— fe·male·ness noun

See female defined for English-language learners

First Known Use of FEMALE

14th century

Related to FEMALE

Synonyms: feminine, womanish, womanlike, womanly

Antonyms: unfeminine, unwomanly

Other Genetics Terms

chimera, hermaphrodite, plasticity

Rhymes with FEMALE

abseil, airmail, all hail, assail, avail, bake sale, bangtail, blackmail, blacktail, bobtail, broadscale, broadtail, bucktail, bud scale, canaille, cattail, chain mail, coattail, cocktail, contrail, curtail, derail, detail, doornail, dovetail, downscale, ducktail, e-mail, entail, exhale, fan mail, fantail, fife rail, fire sale, fishtail, folktale, foresail, foxtail, fresh gale, full-scale, gapped scale, Glendale, gray scale, greenmail, guardrail, Hallel, handrail, hangnail, headsail, hightail, hobnail, horntail, horsetail, impale, inhale, junk mail, Longueuil, lugsail, mainsail, mare's tail, Mondale, moon snail, oxtail, pass-fail, percale, pigtail, pintail, pinwale, plate rail, pot ale, prevail, rattail, regale, resale, rescale, retail, right whale, ringtail, Sangreal, Scottsdale, sea kale, shavetail, shirttail, skysail, slop pail, small-scale, snail mail, soft hail, split rail, springtail, spritsail, square sail, staysail, strong gale, surveil, swordtail, taffrail, tag sale, telltale, third rail, thumbnail, timescale, toenail, topsail, travail, trysail, unnail, unveil, upscale, ventail, voice mail, wage scale, wagtail, wassail, whiptail, white sale, whitetail, white whale, whole gale, wholesale, yard sale

²female

noun

: a woman or a girl : a female person

: an animal that can produce young or lay eggs : a female animal

: a plant that can produce seed or fruit : a female plant

Full Definition of FEMALE

a : a female person : a woman or a girl

b : an individual that bears young or produces large usually immobile gametes (as eggs) that are fertilized by small usually motile gametes of a male

: a pistillate plant

See female defined for English-language learners

See female defined for kids

Origin of FEMALE

Middle English, alteration of femel, femelle, from Anglo-French & Medieval Latin; Anglo-French femele, from Medieval Latin femella, from Latin, girl, diminutive of femina

First Known Use: 14th century